I haven't particularly enjoyed this season either, though I barely held on after season 2 and the Conde stuff, tbh.
I think what the issue is with this show is that it's some of the same issues the CW has with a lot of their shows. Sometimes short and sweet is better than dragging it out. I feel like CW should have taken Reign on the way they have handled some of their second half of the year shows. Maybe give it a reduced number of episodes so that everything isn't being dragged out.
I just finished rewatching The Tudors, and one of the things that made the show so enjoyable, is that they didn't tend to drag things out too much. They got through all six wives within four seasons, and yes, the first two seasons primarily focused on his marriage with Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boelyn, but those are also the two most people are interested in. They even reduced seasons 3 and 4, which could have been due to budget, but nobody really thinks much about his other wives.
I feel like if the CW had followed this method, the show might have worked out a bit better. They're always talking about doing things so differently, to try and draw in a new audience, but this is proof of their failure. I enjoy Reign, I do, but if you're trying to draw in people who want to watch a time period piece, you can't stray so far from the history that you're like wtf. I know Tudors did some, but there was a lot of it they kept intact. Maybe CW thought this was all they could do with budget too - I don't know - but I think if they focused more on smaller seasons and tried to center those around the more historical aspects, it might have been a bit better.
Season 1 could have been about setting up Mary and Francis, and dealing with their conflicts. Season 2 could have been their marriage and happy life, then leading up to his death. Season 3 could then be about Mary getting with Lord Darnley, her next husband, and so on. Basically give the one person people think about the most the most screen time, then move on from season to season based on what comes next instead of adding a bunch of stuff that really doesn't make sense.
From what I understood, Kenna was written out because the actress wanted to leave the show, and I can't say I blame her. Bash is leaving and is already going to be in another show. That's a huge indication of actors not pleased with a show or their story lines. At this point, the only reason they have even bothered to keep it being 3 kingdoms is so they can keep Catherine in it, and then lead up to the stuff with Elizabeth. Quite frankly, I'd prefer it to mainly focus on Mary and not have much of the other stuff. I like Catherine, but this whole plot with Christophe being the murderer, and then Bash and Delphine were just pointless fillers.
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